Insertion

Part 11: The Senshi's Revenge

by Sean D'Anna

=====

Ranma Saotome was walking home from his job at the Cat Cafe. He
had changed back into a man again, escaping both Mousse and Shampoo in
the process. It had been about two weeks since the incident on the
beach, and Cologne was surprised when she showed up for work.

"Why are we keeping this job?" muttered Ranma irritably.

"Because it's good for us, it gets us away from the Tendo house,
and it keeps us with an income," replied Carrot casually.

"Yeah, ammunition isn't cheap you know," agreed Dan.

"Oh," said Ranma glumly.

"So? Now what?" asked Carrot as he looked up at the sky and
watched the stars as they walked.

"We've got a meeting," said Dan with a smirk.

"Is that tonight?" asked Carrot cheerfully. "I must have lost
track of the days."

"Yup," said Ranma cheerfully.

++++++++++

It was a small bar in the Nerima area, a light haze of smoke
filled the room, and several other patrons sat around the various
booths. A group of three men in gray uniforms caught Ranma's eye and
he walked over to them.

"Hi," he said casually as he took up a seat next to them.

"Genaku, how have you been?" asked Kunzite as he pat the boy on
his back.

"Pretty good. I haven't had to deal with those crazy chicks in a
while now."

"Good to hear. I only wish I was so lucky," said Jadeite with a
frown as he downed a shot of some form of alcohol.

"Not doing so well?" said Zocite with a small chuckle.

"Hey. None of that now, you can back-stab each other when you're
with the queen bitch," snorted Ranma as he nodded at the bartender.

The man looked at him and gave a small nod of recognition as he
set down a bottle of beer in front of him.

"Beryl isn't the best person to work for, but it's not like we
have a choice," said Kunzite with a small nod.

"How's Nephrite?" asked Ranma casually.

"Still strutting around like a peacock," commented Jadeite with
his frown deepening a little. "He's still the smug bastard he's always
been."

"Well, live and stay the same moron you always were," replied the
boy with a small shrug. "Cheer up Jadeite."

"Heh. I suppose I should," commented the man as he glared at
Kunzite and Zocite for a moment. "Beryl is growing impatient with me.
That's not good."

"I suppose not," said Ranma with a small nod.

"I'm starting to see why you didn't want to join us," said Jadeite
as he took another shot.

"Slow down," snorted Zocite. "We don't want to carry you back
again."

Ranma found himself frowning, wishing he could do something for
his old friend. He knew better than to convince them to join him.
Beryl had a hold on their minds that he knew he couldn't break.

"This makes me think of better times," said Kunzite with a wistful
looking grin. "Like that time we all got smashed in the place known as
Italy now."

"Oh god. Don't remind me. Endimyon was pissed," grumbled Jadeite.

"Using a Galaxy Class Destroyer as our ride home probably didn't
help matters either," commented Ranma with a slight grin.

"We shouldn't have ordered him to park it in front of the bar,"
said Kunzite with a small chuckle.

"Poor Nephrite about wet himself when half the building was
crushed," chuckled Ranma.

"Yeah," agreed Zocite as he gave a small laugh.

"We always gave him a hard time," commented Ranma. "He used to
take it so well."

"Well, he never stayed mad at you long," said Jadeite with a small
chuckle. "I think he may have had a little crush on you."

"Never thought about that," commented the boy with another shrug.

"Please, it never crossed your mind once?" chuckled Zocite.

"Naw. I've never been interested in stuff like that really,"
replied Ranma obliviously.

"Well the incident on earth was nothing compared to that time
Genaku went to Mercury with us," said Kunzite.

"Oy," muttered Ranma as he clutched his head. "Don't remind me."

"Thirteen years of genetic manipulation, ruined in one moment of
blatant stupidity."

"Well, she looked thirsty," grumbled Ranma.

"She was supposed to be the Senshi of the Sun," commented Zocite.
"Giving her a shot of 150 proof alcohol wasn't a good idea."

"She shot flames out of her mouth and into one of the vats of high
explosives in the lab. The orbit of the planet was disrupted by the
explosion," said Kunzite as he grabbed the boy by his shoulder. "I
don't think I've ever seen Mercury that angry with anyone."

"Serenity put a stop to the project after that," grumbled Ranma
irritably.

"Heh, she always liked you for some reason," commented Jadeite.

"I suppose. I never figured out why," said the boy with another
shrug.

"You were the only fiancee that Pluto wasn't able to get rid of,"
commented Zocite.

"That explains a lot," muttered Ranma.

"We were all a little different back then," said Kunzite with a
small nod.

"Well, this is getting too depressing for me. I'll see you guys
around," said Ranma as he stood up and stepped away from the bar.

"Back to the family again?" asked Zocite.

"You got it. It's been so long since I've had one," said the boy
with a small nod.

"Heh. That goes for all of us. I'm almost envious," said Jadeite.

Ranma gave them a small wave and walked out into the street.

+++++++++++

"It's getting late," said Carrot as he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah. I can't wait to hit the sack," commented Dan.

"It's a nice night though," said Ranma as he glanced around at the
empty streets. They were about halfway home now, and it was a cool
evening.

Carrot was about to respond, when something interrupted him.

++++++++++

"Evil demon who holds no love for mankind! For the crime of
hurting the Senshi of Time, there can be no forgiveness! We're the
Sailor Senshi! In behalf of the moon, you shall be punished."

"Shit!" snapped Ranma as he spun around and found himself
surrounded by the girls. There were five of them, and that accounted
for all of them at the moment.

Sailor Moon stood proudly in her pose, and then dropped her hand.
"This guy?"

"He's more dangerous than he looks," said Minako as she glared at
him angrily. "He's got to be destroyed!"

"What? Why?" snapped Ranma as he continued to turn and assess his
situation. There was no easy way to escape.

"You killed Sailor Pluto, and you ruined my hair!" snapped Minako.

"Pluto isn't dead!" snapped Ranma as he grit his teeth and stepped
back away from her. "If you're still alive, I know I didn't kill her,
Minako."

"He knows your name?" gasped Mercury in shock.

"And yours Ami," said the boy with a small chuckle. He leveled a
glare at her and smiled. One of the voices in his head informed him
that she was the weakest link in the circle.

Ranma slowly edged his way towards the shorthaired senshi, and
reached behind his back. He muttered a small curse when he realized
that his weapons were still at the Tendo home. "We're in trouble," he
told himself.

"Who are you? How do you know who their names?" snapped Usagi.

Ranma turned his head towards her and smiled for a moment. It
might be enough to throw them off balance enough for him to escape. "I
know who all of you are. Makoto, Usagi, Rei, Ami, and Minako. Where
are your little sidekicks? You know, Luna and Artemis?"

The girls gasped in shock, and began to move back. All of them had
horrified looks on their faces.

"Now!" screamed Ranma as he jumped into the air and landed on top
of a nearby street light. He bounced off of the pole, and sailed over
the girls. Before they could recover, he was in a full sprint. He
quickly left the sidewalk and moved into a wooded area inside a small
park.

"No you don't!" cried Makoto. "Thunder Shower!"

Ranma was forced to roll across the ground as a bolt of lightening
struck the ground in his path. His entire body tingled, and he cursed
as he rose to his knees, only to find himself surrounded again.
"Damn!"

"Good work Sailor Jupiter!" cried a male voice from above them.
All of the girls looked up and saw Tuxedo Mask standing on a branch.

Ranma was standing in a combat stance, and glaring at the girls.
"Get the hell out of my way! I ain't done nuthin to none of you!"

"That's a lie!" snapped Minako.

"You attacked me for no good reason!" retorted the boy angrily.

"What is he talking about?" said Usagi in confusion.

"Leave me alone!" snarled Ranma as a soft glow formed around his
body.

"Look out!" cried Makoto.

"Don't make me hurt you!" snarled Ranma.

Ami raised her hands, and a dense cold fog began to form in the
air.

Ranma jumped above it, and was met in the air by Tuxedo Mask. He
managed to get a kick in and forced him back into the ring of girls.

"Sailor Moon! Defeat him now!"

"Endimyon! You bastard!" snarled the martial artist. "Kaio Ken!"

The tuxedo clad man gasped in surprise as the angry boy appeared
in front of him and slammed his fist into his face. He was thrown into
the air by the force of the blow, he landed rather painfully as Ranma
appeared in the air above him and kicked him into the ground.

"No! Tuxedo Mask!" cried Usagi.

"Mars Fire Arrow!" cried Rei as she shot a bolt of flames at the
pigtailed boy, only to have him vanish from in front of the
projectile. "No! Ami! Look out!"

The Senshi of Mercury gasped as the flames sped towards her, she
was barely able to erect her shield in time and they bounced away.

"Thunder Shower!" cried Makoto angrily, her attack was never
finished, as the boy kicked at her and stopped the energy from leaving
her body. She managed to block the strike and snorted. "You'll have to
do better than that!"

"I'm barely trying now!" snarled Ranma as he appeared opposite
Sailor Moon. "I'm warning you."

Tuxedo Mask grabbed his leg. Ranma turned to glance at him in
surprise. "Do it Sailor Moon! I've got him!"

The boy jumped up and kicked his leg out, throwing the unfortunate
man into Usagi. They both tumbled to the ground and he vanished as
another bolt of fire and lightening slammed into the ground where he
had been.

"He's too fast!" snapped Makoto. She charged forward and met him as he
appeared again. Lashing out with a kick that the boy barely dodged.

"Damn it!" he growled as he rolled away as Rei got into the act as
well.

"I'll purify your soul with my sacred fire!" screamed the
priestess as she attempted too kick him.

"Ha! Kaio Ken, times two!" snapped Ranma.

"No way!" gasped Makoto as she felt a super strong blow in her
gut. She sailed through the air, only to impact on the boy's waiting
knee as he appeared behind her.

Rei didn't even have time to blink after that assault as the boy
vanished and appeared with his fist in her jaw. She crumpled too the
ground and didn't move.

Makoto staggered too her feet and glared at him. "That hurt!"

"Oh like hitting me with a lightening bolt wouldn't hurt me!"
snapped the boy angrily as he appeared and kneed her in the face. She
was thrown onto her back and passed out.

Minako had been running back and fourth, trying to get an attack
in up to this point. She could barely follow his movements though,
much less keep up. Now, with her two friends knocked out, she finally
saw an opportunity for a clean shot. "Venus Crescent Beam!"

Ranma ducked as the arc of energy sailed over his head. It slammed
into a tree behind him, and he rolled out of the way.

Minako only looked on in horror as the gigantic trunk slowly fell
towards her. "Uh oh."

"Look out!" cried Tsuki as she appeared and shoved her out of the
way.

"Tsuki!" gasped the girl in shock as she looked down at her
savior. She frowned as she noticed the dazed look on her face; the
girl had hit her head on a rock and was now out cold. "Rei is right!
You are a klutz!" She blinked and looked up, only to find Ranma
cracking his knuckles and glaring at her. "Oh man."

He kicked her in the face, and she was out as well. That was when
he realized that he had forgotten about someone. "No! Where's..."

"Moon Twilight Flash!" cried Sailor Moon as she focused a beam of
energy from the moon onto him.

"Argh!" he cried in pain as the light blinded him.

Tuxedo Mask jumped up and tossed a rose at him from where he was
still lying on the ground. He gasped in shock as the boy caught it
while still blinded by the light. The boy tossed it away and fell to
his knees.

"Ouch! What the hell was that?" sputtered Ranma as he rubbed at
his eyes and tried to focus his sight.

"No way!" gasped Usagi in shock.

He stood up and glared at the pair for a moment. "Leave me the
hell alone!" With that said, the glow formed around his body, and he
vanished from sight completely.

Ami staggered over to the fallen senshi in shock. "I'm sorry! I
couldn't do anything!"

"You did real good Ami! You were as brave as they were!" said
Usagi in her defense.

"Thanks, but I wish I could do more than just make fog," muttered
the girl with a small frown.

"Sailor Moon, are you hurt?" asked Tuxedo Mask with a worried
frown.

"We should be fine, our pride is a little bruised though. We won't
underestimate him next time. I wish I had listened to Minako sooner."

He smiled and nodded at her. "I understand."

++++++++++++

"Damn it!" grumbled Carrot angrily as they moved towards the Tendo
home in the shadows. "I thought we were through with that!"

"Well, apparently not," snorted Dan irritably.

"They'll think twice before attacking us again," said Carrot with
a small sigh.

"We kicked their asses," agreed Ranma with an angry frown.

"Yeah, but that attack hurt. We still can't see straight,"
muttered Dan irritably.

"Great, It's starting to come back at least," said Carrot as he
made them blink. "We need to start packing when we're at work now it
seems."

"I've got no problem with that," said Dan.

"Of course you wouldn't!" snapped Ranma. "I don't need no stupid
guns!"

"You say that now, but it would have been easier to escape if we
had them with us."

"Look, can we not talk about this?" said Carrot with a frown.

"Heck no!" snapped Ranma as he punched himself in the jaw.

"Ouch! You bastard!" retorted Dan as he countered with a slug to
his own stomach.

"That hurts you jerks!" snapped Carrot as he gave himself a right
hook.

Within moments, the trio was rolling on the ground in combat with
themselves.

Carrot was about to knee himself in the chest, when something
unusual happened.

"Stop it this instant! Fighting is bad!"

Ranma froze where he was on the ground and blinked.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" cried Carrot.

"You don't have to be so mean! We could talk about this like
gentlemen? There's no need to be violent!"

"Who said that?" muttered Ranma in horror.

"Oh god no," grumbled Dan.

"Hi! I can't let you do that anymore. It isn't right, and I'm sure
we can all make up and be friends!"

The voice was...cute. Irritatingly so, and it was almost feminine
sounding, but not quite.

"Who the hell are you?" snapped Carrot angrily.

"I'm your new conscience. Your old one wasn't working, so the
power of the moon made me to help you! Isn't that nice?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

The pained cry echoed through the streets of Nerima for another
hour.

++++++++++++

A familiar figure stood glaring up at the stars from the rocky
surface of some unknown world. His bangs hung around his face, and a
small 'R' could be seen peeking out from behind them. He was dressed
in a black suit and tie, with shined black shoes and a bowl hat
resting on top of his head.

"Where the hell am I now?" he cried into the sky angrily. He
raised his fists into the air, and the stones around him began to rise
off of the ground from the power he was exerting. "Damn you Ranma!
When I finally return home again. I'll show you the true terror of Mr.
Where!" He paused as a small watch alarm went off. "And I'll find you,
right after I have tea."

Ryoga set down his backpack, and opened it, pulling out a small
tea set from inside. He promptly went about setting it up, and
preparing a few small sandwiches and cookies for himself.

++++++++++++++

Ranma was staggering down the sidewalk, a horrified stare on his
face as he moved towards the Tendo Dojo. "Another one..." He muttered
the phrase over and over.

Dan punched them again. "Snap out of it!"

"I said stop that!" said the voice angrily.

"The hell! Make me you little wimp!" snorted Dan angrily. He
gasped as he found himself unable to move.

"No one can resist it! You'll just have to learn to stop being so
violent.

Carrot snorted, and punched himself again.

"Stop that!" cried the voice. Carrot found himself immobile and
Dan slugged himself.

"Ouch! That hurts! Stop hurting me!" whined the voice
pathetically.

Ranma decided to take a shot, and slugged himself as well. Then he
found himself immobile as the weird voice tried to stop him.

Carrot and Dan both slugged themselves again.

"Why? Why are you being so mean?" cried the voice pathetically.

"Heh. It seems that it can only suppress one of us at a time,"
chuckled Carrot.

"Like that's a big help," snorted Ranma.

"We'll just keep kicking its ass until it leaves us alone,"
snorted Dan.

"I'll never give up! Giving up is something we should never..."

All three of them attacked at the same time, laying themselves out
across the pavement.

After a moment, Dan groaned painfully. "Is it gone? Did we kill
it?"

Carrot sighed and shook their head. "I think it's just knocked
out."

"I really hate you guys," muttered Ranma.

"Right, well I hate you guys too," snorted Carrot in irritation.
"Let's just go home. I'm tired."

There was a resounding agreement at that, and they stood up and
began to walk home again in silence.

+++++++++++++

"Ouch," muttered Tsuki as she sat down in her room on Pluto. She
was rubbing the spot on her head where she had been hit. "This job
sucks." She frowned and looked into the Time Gate, it was currently
showing the present, and all the Senshi, and one Tuxedo clad guardian
were covered in bruises and scrapes far worse than her own.

She sighed and tried to relax.

Inside her healing tank nearby, Setsuna shook her head and sighed.
The girl was definitely trying her best, but still. She needed to be
out there again. Things were going too far out of control for Tsuki to
handle, and it would only grow worse. Especially with Genaku around.

The young girl stood up from her seat and turned to look at
Setsuna in adoration. "Don't worry. I'll take care of this until
you're better."

The woman nodded, and closed her eyes.

"I guess I should practice now," grumbled Tsuki. "I am Senshi in
training Tsuki! And you shall be punished for... No, too long. I need
something more decisive! I am Tsuki! Senshi in Training! On behalf of
Pluto, you shall be punished!" She hung her head and frowned. "No,
that's Usagi's line." She stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I've got it! Tsuki! Senshi of Time in training! And your time is up
villain!" She looked pleased with herself and smiled cheerfully. "Now,
If I could just come up with a good pose..."

If Setsuna could groan inside the healing liquid, she would have.
She settled for merely banging her head lightly against the glass tube
in frustration. "Idiot," she thought to herself.

+++++++++++

TBC...